Lacuna Populi
Lacuna Populi (latin for words of the people) was a publication with the intent to present various viewpoints on matters that affect the nations of CN as a collection of scholarly writings. The first volume draws exclusively from Vox Populi for its content, but submission of articles from anyone is encouraged. It is intended to be a biweekly publication, though it is content driven so there are no guarantees. Three volumes were released in early 2009. Volume I :Link The Power Superstructure :By Schattenmann I. Introduction During my involvement with the Vox Populi movement, I have coined and begun to use a term, Power Superstructure, which may seem to simply put a new face on old terms like hegemony or old concepts like boredom or lack of competition; however, the Power Superstructure holds depth and width of meaning far beyond these related or predecessor terms. Once defined, the Power Superstructure concept is understood to hold sway over nearly all Digiterran facets; from the way individuals define themselves to the reason alliances go to war. II. Linguistic Mechanics In our bold new Digiterran landscape, old words and terms take on new meanings, and new ones crop up to define our world; so how do we define and use this new term Power Superstructure? a. Definition. The Power Superstructure is an overarching political system which utilizes the several Control Structures upon which it is built to influence global events to the fulfillment of its Dual Nature. i. The Control Structures are Alliances, the MDP Web, one Super-Bloc, Team Senates, and Influential Individuals ii. The superstructure’s Dual Nature is self-replication and self-preservation. iii. The Means of Control are the tools with which Control Structures fulfill the Dual Nature. They are: Information, Communication, War/Threat of War, Aid, Sanctions, Treaties, Morality, and Extradigiterrestrial Measures b. Usage. Due to the superstructure’s inextricability from its structures, one might easily reference it erroneously. A “superstructure” is always atop many supporting structures and cannot exist without them; however, that dependence is not reciprocated—the Power Superstructure is no different. As such, when a Control Structure is in play, it is only said to be a superstructure action where the Dual Nature is being served. For example, an alliance can go to war with another alliance, but that war is only said to be a result of Power Superstructure influence if that war ultimately replicates or preserves the superstructure in some way; therefore, not all war is a superstructure action, only war which serves the Dual Nature. The same test is applicable to all exertions of power by a Control Structure. Anti-Imperialism aka "Voxism" :By MegaAros As you have no doubt noted by now, Pacifica and Vox are two organizations that are vehemently, ideologically opposed to one another. Our philosophies being no exception. While Mobuis_1 attempted to unite our two outlooks under Francoism, he ultimately perverted Francoism in ways unimaginable, and skewed the idea so much so that it would be the most ridiculous thing ever published. No, Vox has its own philosophy, one that is entirely on the opposite side of the spectrum. We have read tons of works which refer to “Francoism” a philosophy which deals with the absurdity of the nation existing within the state of nature, and thus, why nations must rid themselves of the natural, anarchic, state. In essence, the philosophy’s main point is this: If you want to build up your nation, join Pacifica, since if you do not, you will be tech raided, not have guides, etc, etc. The main purposes of Francoism are obviously utilitarian and pragmatic. It exists for the sole purpose of building a nation up, and making it as perfect as possible. It exists so that the physical well-being of the nation is kept. The Francoist mindset is that a perfect world may be created if all nations withdraw from the state of nature, join under the Emperor of the Order, and then, proceed to build up their nations. Then, through use of mutual protection, these nations protect one another from any and all outside force. Of course, in the perfect Francoist world, there is no outside force, as they have all joined Pacifica, or at the very least, allied with them. If Francoism does indeed create the perfect world, suffering is eliminated. All nations will build up, and will keep building up. The non-existence of threats will not deter the building of nations. As they build without challenge, they will reach incredible heights. 20k infrastructure, and more will eventually be reached. All nations that have the ability to keep building, will build up to these levels. All nations that continue to exist will reach levels that were formerly unimaginable. Newer nations will begin at low levels, but with even a slight resolve, will grow to those unforeseen heights. But this growth will mean nothing. These stats will mean nothing. Without the fragility that formally existed to challenge this growth, without an outside force to actually challenge the nation, the stats become meaningless. There is no reason to have them other than an empty feeling of compensation for having existed for as long as you have. An one hundred year old man with no actual accomplishments, as it were. Happiness, art, triumph, glory, and strength, can only be achieved via suffering. We are happy when we overcome an obstacle. We create art out of our suffering. We triumph over challenges, and receive glory. These obstacles then add to our strength, for what does not kill us, only serves to strengthen us. Polaris is clear proof of that. Pacifica and Polaris post GWI, was clear proof of that. Therefore, the first tenant of Voxism is that suffering must exist, and that preferably, it exists in equal measure to pleasure. The creation of super-hegemonies to counter suffering, are nothing but limiters to this goal. This brings me to why Francoism itself is an intolerable philosophy. As we can see, Francoism is nothing but the maintaining of stats and of the nature of growth of nations. It precludes nothing more. It is a physical, meaningless existence. By creating, or attempting to create, a perfect world, Francoism destroys all meaning in two ways. First, it reduces to world to the physical strength of nations, and second, it creates limits which should not exist. Therefore, instead of focusing on nothing but their physical existence, the nations of Vox, or nations following Voxism have the responsibility of putting ideals first, before physical existence. In doing so, Voxism nations refuse to enter the Social Contract that is Francoism, and thus, forcibly create an opposition to that of the Perfect world. This is not to say that Pacifica doesn’t create suffering. No, it does indeed inflict suffering on those that are much weaker than it, with the intention of removing those from the world entirely, OR, as we saw with Legion, forcing them to side with Pacifica, thus adding to the creation of the perfect world. Pacifica creates suffering as a means to the end of ending suffering. This end must be avoided at all costs. It should also be noted that this suffering doesn’t exist in a method that could threaten Pacifica. It does not exist in equal measure to pleasure. This in turn still allows Pacifica to act with net benefits achieved, which will slowly end suffering as we know it. Therefore, for the sake of this world to maintain its meaning, we must act. All of us must act. Our physical well being of our nations is irrelevant. If we have no meaning, is suicide not permissible? If we have no meaning, then why should we continue to live? So, for the sake of our existence, we must rebel. Life in itself is rebellion. How Vox is Winning the War :By Nintenderek Many times a day, jokes are made on and the forums about Vox Populi. When newcomers to the Cybernations forums make topics asking which alliance to join, people tell them Vox Populi, so that they may lose their pixels. The people are ignorant of the fact that Vox Populi is indeed winning the current war. First off, I must quote Vladmir, “What is it to win? To achieve your original goals?” from his document on The Great Patriotic War, also known as Great War 1. He later goes on about this in the same essay, “What about the Orders' original goals? Given the discussion with GATO and the ODN mentioned in the previous section, it was explicitly to teach LUE a lesson, if not destroy them completely, and this has never been denied. Were they punished? The fact that it is difficult to say would suggest not as much as the Orders would have liked. While their strength plummeted and a wave of defeatism washed over them in the early days, arguably 'teaching them a lesson' about what they did, they nevertheless emerged as a centre-point in the coaluetion and built up a significant influence as a result -- something that was perhaps more important to them. If the war had gone on there is little doubt in my mind that LUE would have been left to fight alone and would have been destroyed, but this isn't what occurred, as the Order took the strategic option and instead destroyed them some 6 months later.” Indeed, Vladmir has solid points for why the Orders won that war, but how can it compare to this one? This battle, this war of ideologies. If Vladmir’s point holds solid, is Vox winning the current war? From a statistical standpoint, Vox Populi is indeed losing this war. Many of the Vox Populi soldiers have bled and died for their nations and alliances. Many nations of Vox Populi have lost most of their infrastructure, and Vox Populi has very little total nation strength, exactly 162,327 as of the time of this being written, compared to 21,490,433, with just the New Pacific Order alone, not counting all of their allies which are also against Vox Populi. But statistics mean very little in war, as the side with less causalities or more NS can often surrender for various reasons. What matters are the goals, as Vladmir has stated in The Great Patriotic War and You. Vox Populi has had many goals during it’s life time. It took a red senate seat. It gained almost 300 members in under a week. It has formed a government from anarchy. It has infiltrated many of the TOP alliances, including most of the sanctioned ones. It has shown many people the light, and brought many people to the realization that the Global Hegemony needs to go. But what of the Order’s goals? What of the goals of the Global Hegemony? They have had but one goal all along, as Moo made clear in this statement from August 28, 2008. “The People's Government has recently outlawed the existence of the terrorist group known as Vox Populi. The bombing will begin in five minutes.” Their goal has been to eliminate us all along. But we are alive. Vox Populi still exists. They have not fulfilled their goals in this ideological war. As such, under their own logic, Vox Populi is winning this war. Vox Populi still exists to this day. Only if Vox Populi ceases to exist will the New Pacific Order ever win this war. Our goals have been accomplished, with our ultimate goal still being worked on. So, members of Planet Bob, make your jokes of Vox being a failure and keep telling the people you dislike to join Vox. Vox is winning the Vox Resistance movement under the Order’s own logic. Vox still exists, ready to finally win this final war for the Order. Volume II/6 month anniversary ed. :Link A day in the life of a member of Vox Populi :By Nintenderek On a Planet Bob where the main philosophy is if your not with me, then your against me, many people have decided to make Vox Populi their enemy, even when we aren't. What they don't get, is that in many ways, Vox Populi is like most, if not all, other alliances in many ways, and there are many ways in which Vox Populi is different. For one, Vox Populi openly accepts diplomatic requests as any alliance does. We have people come by our forums regularly, just to be diplomatic and friendly. We will usually accept diplomatic requests from most, if not all alliances, although I am not in government and do not speak for Vox Populi when I say that. A day in the life of a member of Vox Populi isn't much different from many alliances. You check your nation. You collect taxes. You pay bills if your not in bill lock. Many of us do not fight in wars, in peace mode, or not, making us that much more like any other alliance. We discuss the same things many alliances discuss in their private areas. We discuss how to survive as an alliance and how to accomplish those goals. The only difference being how the goals are different. A member of Vox Populi typically checks the Vox Forums (or at least should check the Vox forums) at least two times a day, and spend at least five minutes reading stuff on them each time. That may seem very little compared to many alliances, but with the size of Vox Populi, it works fine, especially considering many of Vox Populi's active members do not post on the Vox forums. This is because most of our planning, discussion, and general conversation takes place elsewhere on IRC. IRC is one of Vox Populi's greatest tools for planning. Most of the planning for everything in Vox takes place on IRC. If you check the old Vox Populi forums, you might find 2 topics on the red senate seat race while it was happening, if that. That's because all planning for said event took place on IRC, and everyone was informed via the private messages in game. Well then, what is different about Vox Populi you ask? Well, it certainly isn't your typical alliance. It is an alliance at war against the hedgemony, an alliance full of ideas, both IC and OOC. Many of the members of Vox are some of the smartest people I've met in Cybernations, both IC and OOC. If you take a look on the CN forums, you can tell that's also something very different about Vox than most alliances. Unlike a lot of alliances, which have many quiet members, who don't post much, most of the Vox Populi members are quite active on the CN forums with their opinions. True, not always do those opinons match, but usually they all do lead to the same general idea of the destruction of the global hegemonay. If you use an essay by one Vox member to prove another one wrong, you can not correctly prove them wrong because of the different beliefs and ideas each individual person brings to the table. A good example of this would be Junkalunka's idea of using Francoism in Vox Populi, which although did have a good base, and some members did agree with it, most of the general population of Vox Populi did not. This is why if you use one essay written by Junkalunka to prove say, somebody like Starfox wrong, it won't matter, because most likely, Starfox will agree with said point. Another example of this is one of my own. Many members of Vox Populi like what NPO has done by protecting members of the red team, while I indeed do not. So, if a member of Vox Populi (let's use Doitzel for this example), says that they like the Revenge Policy, you can not prove Doitzel wrong by quoting one of my posts, because my opinion is indeed my own. This is why Vox Populi's name fit's it accurately. Every person has different ideas, and the common ones come together to form one big idea. This idea is the Vox Populi, or the Voice of the People. It's a voice so strong, no force in Cybernations can destroy it, because the people will always be there. This voice is so powerful, only the Vox Dei can truely translate what it means, which is why only the Vox Dei can speak for the Voice of the People, no matter who that Vox Dei is. Vox Populi is also a very close nit group of people. A lot of the people come from different parts of Planet Bob and have different historys. Some people have similar histories. All these histories have parts and peices in common, and lead to one place, which brings the membership together and although the members of Vox Populi do have different pasts, they all generally get along. Not often do you find internal squables between members of Vox Populi. Most of the time, we are willing to put our differences aside, because each other is all we have on this big ole planet called Bob. Think about it. On a Planet Bob where you are an outlaw and do not have any infrastructure or technology. On a Planet Bob where your nation is in rumble, who else do you have to turn to but your allies? The suffering in Vox Populi is what brings us close together, making us one of the tightest nit group of members of any alliance. I would consider most people in Vox Populi a friend in one way or another. This indeed proves Vox Popui's greatest theory and it's principles described by MegaAros as Voxism. Voxism is the belief that that suffering must exist, and that preferably it exists in equal measure to pleasure. The suffering in Vox Populi from the eternal war is what has brought the members of the alliance together in alleigiance, and makes Vox Populi one of the most fun alliances to be in. You don't need to be careful of what you say so that you don't get rolled, because your gonna get rolled anyway. This adds much more fun to the game, and proves the point that if you really want the game to be fun, you yourself need to make it fun. While it being the closet group of friends is an important quality for Vox Populi, it's not as important as the individual members itself. Where most alliances grow big by accepting most people, regardless of how active those people actually are, Vox Populi doesn't opennly recruit none nations. Most people who join Vox Populi, join it because they know what it is from the big boards, making most of the members of Vox Populi quite knowledgable. If one member doesn't know the answer to something, another most certainly will. All that knowledge and all those ideas in one place, makes Vox Populi one of the most experienced alliances in Cybernations history. No other alliance can compare to all the experience that Vox Populi brings to the table. Think of Vox Populi as a combination of every important alliance in history, because ideas from each one are there in Vox Populi in some shape or another. Vox Populi is highly influenced by those ideas people bring from other alliances. As my world history teacher would call it if he played CN, Vox Popul is the ultimate ideological homogenization of Planet Bob. So, a day in the life of a member of Vox Populi is very similar to a member of any other alliances, but in a way it's very different, unlike any other alliance to ever exist in CN history and ever will exist in CN history. This is why I'm proud to be a member of Vox Populi, because if nothing else, the one thing that must be admited about us, is that we are the most unique alliance in Cybernations history. On The Importance of Hope :By Northrend To begin this particular post, I would like to refer the reader to a quote. It is in my signature. The quote reads, for those who are too lazy to scroll: Fear is a disease; Hope is the only cure. Fear is the very nature of our war against those would seek to impose their hegemony and influence on the rest of the community. The very presence of our enemy inspires it amongst each and every one of us. We do not deny being afraid. Fear is not something to which we are ashamed of. It is something that has taught us a great many things, and will surely teach us a great many more in the months that lie ahead as we continue our struggle for freedom. Fear is an animal that must, under the correct circumstances, be tamed. It must be understood, bottled and controlled. It cannot be allowed to run rampant through our minds to such a degree that it leaves us powerless to defend that which we care so deeply for: the idea of a free and prosperous community. One in which our enemy must not be allowed to rear it’s ugly head in the name of a false ideology which by it’s very nature is oppressive in every respect. This task is an immense task that is not so readily defeated. It has taken months for many of us to stand where we stand today. Only after being dealt first hand the cruelty and injustice upon our lands did we realize that there is but one cure, one antidote, if you will, to this horrible disease. Hope is that cure. Hope is the very reason we fight. Hope in of itself is a harmless tool for our enemy. However what our enemy does not realize is that hope is merely the vehicle that serves to deliver our message to other more receptive ears. It is the compass that guides us on our course. Without this compass, we would have been cast about in the sea of chaos and disorganization. It is through hope that we get a sense of purpose, and a clarity of vision and mind. Through hope we are united in strength against our common enemy, It is through hope, that our chains our broken. Through hope, that we gain victory. Fear is a disease; Hope is the only cure. All Hail the Pax Pacifica : submitted anonymously In Cybernations today all nations are acted upon, to varying degrees, by an overarching socio-political and military force which I call the Pax Pacifica. (Aside: In the first volume of the Lacuna, Schattenmann described the Global Superstructure; this is the same as the Pax Pacifica. However, for the purpose of historical comparison, which I will address in the future, I use Pax Pacifica) All entities that have any political interest, be they Vox Populi or ChairmanHal, actively consider the reactions and responses of the Pacifican Order before making a move. Through skillful diplomatic maneuvering, and often sheer force of arms, Pacifica has created for its self a 'cult of invincibility' which it can (and often has) used to dictate what is and is not acceptable practice for alliances. Perhaps the most recent example of Pacifica's ability to control the code of acceptable alliance interaction was the creation of the ZI Peace Pact around the time of the Polar War this past summer. To those that are unfamiliar with the ZI Peace Pact, it essentially was an agreement between a number of alliances, including such political heavyweights as Ragnarok and Viridian Entente, that the sentencing of nations to permanent ZI status would no longer be practiced. As it is apparent that Pacifica will not be a signatory to these accords, the ZI Peace Pact has been rendered a footnote to CN History. An attempt by nations outside the 'Global Superstructure' or 'Pax Pacifica' to change the mores of CN society has been blocked by the weight of Pacifican opposition. Having essentially rehashed many things that have been already said about Pacifica I realize that most readers will not be looking on this work as anything special or provocative. For those looking for something new, I apologize, and I must admit that this brief exposition is just a launching point for my future works exploring the 'Pax Pacifica.' I encourage everyone to keep an eye out for my future publications; I intend to take the current discussions about the Global Superstructure in a unique and fresh direction. Until then, I bid you farewell. Volume III :Link The Struggle for freedom : By: President Scroougee Both Vox Populi and the New Pacific Order have collided into the definition of Freedom and how they are achieving it. In this article, freedom will be looked from both perspectives and it will be concluded that Freedom is infact unachievable in the Vox Resistance Movement nor is it a justifiable casus belli in any future wars. From a francoist/pacifican point of view, Freedom is an appliable theory used to control the people to ensure law and order as stated by James Dahl of Ogaden a member of NPO "It is my belief that the "free" alliances will always grow very quickly, but are inevitably doomed to fall before the "ordered" alliances. " and he later goes on to say "Those favoring freedom and liberty tend to be able to recruit new members more successfully, and have fewer problems with discipline." Why do they have fewer discipline problems? because of the strict teachings and order within the New Pacific Order. As for Vox Populi, Freedom comes in a variety of ways. Since its humble beginnings with an Anarchist style of government and no clear leader to its current style of Anachro-democrat values, the de facto seems to show disorganization to the outside alliances. But what is to say that members within Vox are not free? Outside misconceptions and propaganda steaming from both sides of the field fuel the misconception of freedom. Unlike the NPO, Vox Populi isn't obssessed with creating the perfect nation for each of its members rather, it is more concerned with freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Either way it is underterminable whether or not freedom comes in the form of complete unity and strict obideince or if freedom comes in the form of smaller government and minimal laws. Therefore, Freedom, in the game of Cybernations can not be used as a means for a Casus bellis because conflicting ideals and perversion of the word can be spouted from each barrel of opposing sides. Total Control and YOU! The guns sounded at the stroke of midnight. Oh how the Franco's star helped provide light! Our troops ran in around 12 o'2. Poor Franco forgot his shoe. We returned victorious around 12:30 The trumpets sounded as we pulled into Francograd around 6 am I recieved the ribbon for the war and wore it proudly I remember the soldiers I fought side by side with Those were the one's who spoke loudly Yes for they did not die of an enemy bullet Rather a pacifican one. You see, speaking out against Moo is illegal and winds you up in jail No you won't get a bail from the outside your stuck waiting for the end There won't be Franco's light for you around the bend just a nation that will never past 0 I why? for you will meet doom and wind up in a tomb if you speak against Moo Proudly Pacifican Pacifican I am, yes thats who I am. Brave, Courageous and a leader of some sorts. Thats what they tell me at the Academy. I understand that Moo is trying the best for all of us he really is. So that is why I gave up my freedom, of speech that is. Evil, bad and unpatriotic is what he says of Vox when we are done with them they will wind up in a Box So that is why I gave up my nation, so it can be a bank that is. Bipolar, stupid and interesting is what he says of Polar when we are done with them we will pop our collar Idiotic, Unecessary and brainwashed. Pacifican I am, yes thats who I am. The Resistance : By Nintenderek In today’s modern world known as Planet Bob, many modern resistance groups exist. Many times, they are confused for each other, or people think they are the same thing and then try to impose the opinions of one resistance group with another. This is not true, as although most are allies, not all believe in the same final plan or have the same ideas on how to get there. To start, there is FAN. FAN is an alliance of old times, which was at one point a “normal” alliance, attacked when they had their back turned, betrayed by the New Pacific Order. They are fans (no pun intended) of guns and weaponry, their roots being a (OOC) gun website (/OOC) of which they are quite proud. They never planned on being a resistance group, having at one time been allied to the New Pacific Order itself. Their main enemy is the NPO. They differ from other groups, as they are only a resistance group more by force than by choice and actually have many more members then most the other groups. They also differ as they prefer warfare over the war of words. They also have fewer morals than most other resistance groups and are generally more open to secret treaties. They are a signatory of the Pocahontas Accords. OcUK is also a resistance group of this time. Not much is heard from them except on IRC, where they hang out in the channels of their allies quite often. They use to be a blue team alliance and part of the BLEU economic bloc and one of Polar’s biggest allies in the bloc. Rumor has it that they were offered terms and refused them because they will only take a white peace. They are also different as they aren’t actually at war against the New Pacific Order, or any of its better known allies. The main opponent of OcUK is RoK. They too are a signatory of the Pocahontas accords. Jarheads are a newer resistance group, so new that some may argue if they are actually a resistance group, as they are still early in their war and wouldn’t be a resistance group if they plan on accepting peace. The main different between Jarheads and the other groups are that they don’t post on the CN forums, and have more numbers than the others. Another huge difference is that they have no actual CN beliefs besides the downfall of the New Pacific Order, as they are made up of nations who are new to the game and low in NS. They have enough nations for warfare that NPO indeed had to call in many allies to fight Jarheads. They currently have no treaties, although communication between them and most of the other resistance alliances have been friendly. Blackstone Collusion is another resistance group which could be labeled the most unique of the resistance alliances. It is made up completely of people whose CN identities are anonymous and are people of other alliances. Members of alliances such as Valhalla, GGA, NPO, TPF, and others have joined the Blackstone Collusion completely anonymously. This sometimes leads to good spy information; however, Blackstone will sometimes ruin this information by spreading fake information, leading many to think of them as a joke or a failure. The things about Blackstone that this author finds interesting are their ideals. They wish to use many of the hegemony’s main weapons, such as PZI and tough terms, against NPO, them being their main enemy. No war has officially been declared by or against the Blackstone Collusion. They are currently a signatory of the Fashionably Late compact. Many leaders do not view them as an alliance, especially including their announcement of non-existance. This author however is not one of those people. Vox Populi is the most obvious resistance group of this time. Claiming ideals like an end to PZI and tough surrender terms, this alliance is not against just the NPO, but the global hegemony in general, making them quite different than many of the other resistance groups. They are made of up people with much experience on Planet Bob. Wishing for Global Anarchy, they do not wish for the complete destruction of any alliance, but for no one alliance or bloc to be a whole lot more powerful than any other. This is also the home of the author of this paper. They have a group NAP called the Fashionably Late Compact and are signatories of the Pocahontas Accords. Let us not forget the countless other mini resistance groups. Many 5-20 man alliances exist for the soul purpose of destroying NPO, Valhalla, TPF, GGA, and some of the other major players for one reason or another, usually revenge. They groups usually think they have the potential to do so, but really don’t. Many times they are made up of people new to CN. They are usually useless, and if you are the leader of such an alliance, the best suggestion this author can give to you is to merge into one of the five alliances mentioned above. In the end, all the alliances, while working for the same similar cause, have different ideas and ways to get there, at times even disagreeing with each other for such. But their common goal is the same, and because of such things as the Tattler and TWiP, and even just the plain stupidity of their common enemies part of the time, their goal is looking more and more possible each and every day. Article by Chief Savage Man In this game, there are undoubtedly dozens of very famous players. Players in positions of power, controversial players, and players who post a lot or have some kind of publication that repeatedly puts their names out. I have been in four alliances: first NpO, then \m/, then GOONs, then \m/ again, then Vox Populi. In all four of these alliances, I have had superiors and peers who were/are famous within this CN community. In NpO, there was electron sponge and others, in \m/, there was NinjaR, Jason8, and others, in GOONS, banned member, banned member, Daemon Vower, babyjesus, and in Vox Populi, there is Doitzel, Starfox, and others. There is nothing inherently wrong with being well-known, but sometimes it can be manipulated. The end result of some of these manipulations can be seen in many alliances today. I am talking about personality cults, specifically. Personality cult is usually associated with historical figures like Hitler or Stalin, and I do not mean to imply that anyone I am about to mention is a Nazi/Stalinst/megalomaniac/etc. One of the bigger personality cults and easily the oldest is that of the NPO Emperor. Both Moo and his predecessors have been glorified by the NPO to be something they are not. This is a deliberate design. What good is an autocratic emperor if people are just going to question them all the time? When you build up this semi-deification around the Emperor, you are reducing the significance of the people's complaints. When this personality cult is in place, some members will become fanatic defenders of their Emperor's reputation and immediately attack any who criticize him directly. By doing this, the Emperor is able to silence his critics without deigning to tell them off himself. This creates the belief that when the Emperor has to speak on something himself, it must be very important. Most of the time, the Emperor's proponents will incorrectly consider his word to be truth, even if it a bold-faced lie. This weapon can be used to silence any critic, either domestic or foriegn. The real detriment of this trend is that it creates a barrier between the people and their leaders. When any criticisms of the Emperor are dismissed because of this, the average member is not allowed to see the truth, which can be discouraging. Furthermore, the average member is being delegated to their class by the Emperor when he doesn't tell them the whole truth. Over time, the lack of willingness to criticize the Emperor creates the aforementioned barrier. The members feel that they cannot question their government, which deepens the divide. This is evident as the NPO government stays largely unchanged, even though there are dozens of more qualified members below them. The personality cult is where this all begins. The unwritten rules banning the members from criticizing their government creates this barrier. No alliance is immune from this. Even democracies could succumb to this. When the same player gets elected over and over again, this could happen. It is a depressing and sad sign of the times when alliance members get more information from their enemies in Vox Populi then their leaders. But do not fear, it is an untenable system. The cracks begin when two personality cults collide. Electron sponge, as a former Emperor of NpO, was revered by NpO members during his tenure and is still revered by a great deal of them today. However, when sponge became the opponent of Moo-Cows, the government of NPO denounced him in private. When a hero of the people is suddenly denounced in a Stalinesque maneuver, the trust of the people is violated. Propaganda is needed to sway public opinion away from their former hero. Let me give you a specific example. Recently, a high-level official was seen posting a comment that compared Electron Sponge to Ivan Moldavi in a negative manner, both portrayed as senile, meaningless relics of the past, whose opinions mean nothing. This is of course insulting to Ivan and Sponge, and should be insulting to every member of NPO and NpO. When two men who have done so much for your alliance are being disparaged by your paranoid leaders, then your leaders are lying to you and are disrespecting your intelligence. By glorifying a man in public, and then disparaging him in private, they are clearly signaling that they do not think the average member deserves to know the truth. They are wrong. Strip the glorification from their image. Boil down the heroes to who they really are. More importantly, strip the false accolades from your own leaders. Make your judgments and then do the right thing. Category:Vox Populi Category:News Publications